AN: I'm ba-ack (finally)! Well, obviously I didn't get this posted before I moved. But I'm back now.
About Review Responses...well, it was either work on those or this chapter, and I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible. I'll get all the responses out as soon as I can. I just haven't had any time to work on them yet. I really appreciate everyone's reviews, and I am going to respond to them all as soon as I can.
This is the last chapter of part two. Part Three is very soon to come (like, probably in the next day or two).
Chapter Twenty-Five: A Threat Remains
"Do you think he'll be all right?"
"Hard to say...I hope so."
Legolas wrinkled his brow as the voices trickled in through his consciousness. He heard a heavy sigh, felt someone run a hand over his head.
"Any sign of Thilator?"
"No...no sign."
Thilator. Legolas started at hearing the name, the events of the last few days flashing into his mind. His eyes flew open, and he found himself staring into several startled pairs of eyes.
He immediately sought out a familiar pair, and finally recognized Elrohir. The dark-haired elf was kneeling beside his bed, leaning over as though to block the rest of the room out.
Slowly, the other faces he saw came into focus, and he began to recognize members of his family...two of his sisters and one brother.
"It's all right," Elrohir said quietly, turning Legolas' focus back to him. "You're in the healers' wing.
"Am-Amarthwen?" Legolas whispered.
"She's dead."
Legolas closed his eyes, resting his head back in the pillow. So it was true...he had hoped it wasn't. Not that he had felt any compassion for the she-elf, but ending an immortal life was always a serious matter. "Who killed her?" he asked quietly.
"We're not sure," another voice, Elladan, replied. "Elrohir and Meluial shot her at the same time...it's almost impossible to know whose arrow landed first."
"We would not have done it if there had been another way," Elrohir said gently. "You have to believe that."
Legolas nodded. He understood that...but that did not make it any easier to accept. As much as he had feared her, he had not wanted to see her dead. "You said Thilator escaped?"
No one spoke for a moment. "We will find him," was all Elladan said in reply.
Legolas sighed, painfully shifting on the bed. He could feel the other elves' eyes on him, and fidgeted under their scrutiny. The bed suddenly shifted and he opened his eyes, a little surprised to see his father. "Ada?"
Thranduil nodded to the other elves in the room, gently taking his son's hand as the others left. "I am so sorry I could not protect you," he said quietly, his voice nearly breaking. "Legolas..."
"No," Legolas shook his head, tightening his hold on his father's hand. "You could not have done more."
"I could have locked you in one of the unused wings with a circle of guards," Thranduil retorted. "I could have had Elladan and Elrohir take you back to Rivendell, or kept you with me at all times."
"Ada," the prince protested. "You did...you could not know Amarthwen would go to such lengths," he tried to reassure his father. Thranduil's dismay was distressing...how could the king blame himself?
"I have spoken with the twins," Thranduil continued after a moment, his voice quavering. "If you so desire...they will take you back to Rivendell."
Legolas sank back in shock. "Ada?" he asked, his own voice weak. "Do...do you want me to leave?" He was confused...his mind slightly foggy as though he had been drugged—which, since he was in the healer's wing, was likely.
"No," Thranduil shook his head. "But I wish you to feel safe, and if you do not feel so here..."
The young elf scooted forward as much as he dared, wincing when pain shot through his torso. He awkwardly wrapped his good arm around Thranduil, his right arm again hanging in a sling. "But I want to stay," he said in a small voice, part of him oddly afraid that his father was going to make him leave again.
And for the first time since his arrival, he did. Even though he still felt out of place among the wood-elves, he knew that he belonged with his family.
Thranduil's arms tightened briefly around his son. "All right," the king finally said, pulling away from Legolas' embrace. "But I don't want you to take any chances...if there is the slightest sign that he has returned I will send you back to Rivendell until we can find him."
Legolas nodded to show that he understood. He offered his father as bright a smile as he could muster, ignoring the pain that flared in his wounded cheek. "It will be all right, Ada," he said as confidently as he could.
The king simply shook his head. "You need to rest...I will speak with you again in the morning."
He waited until his father left, half-listening as the king said that everyone else could visit Legolas after he had rested.
The healers were still bustling about, treating another elf that had come in with an injury.
Legolas sighed, rolling onto his side and curling up a little. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping any healer that came near would simply think he was sleeping.
A cold knot of fear was building in his stomach. Thilator was still alive, and Legolas knew it would only be a matter of time before the tutor returned.
But next time, he vowed, he would not be taken unawares.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"How is Meluial?" Elladan asked in concern as he left the healers with Brithdil. Elrohir was trailing behind, still looking back as though wishing he could have spoken with Legolas again.
"She's a little shaken up," the Mirkwood captain replied. "She's...well, she's never had to even draw against another elf before. How is your brother?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Elladan glanced back at Elrohir. "He'll be all right, once we get home and he can talk to our father. He knows it had to be done, but that does not make it any easier on him."
Brithdil nodded quietly. "Will you be returning immediately, then?"
"I don't know," Elladan sighed. "We probably should." He would have delayed the trip had Legolas wanted to come with them, but Thranduil had told them that the prince wanted to stay in Mirkwood despite the danger that Thilator still presented.
"Stay a few more days," the captain suggested.
Elladan made a small, noncommittal sound. "I suppose we should pick up some clothes for Legolas," he commented, turning down the hall toward the family rooms. "Do you know when the healers are releasing him?"
"I would imagine it would be a few more days," Brithdil replied as they slowed a pace so Elrohir could walk with them. "But it couldn't hurt...they finished repairing his room this morning, I believe."
"That was fast," Elrohir commented as they reached the prince's door.
Elladan pushed the door open, pausing in shock. For one moment he thought it was snowing in the room, but when he recovered he realized it was merely feathers flying about.
"What happened?" Brithdil asked, pushing past the twins.
"The pillows," Elrohir replied, nudging the torn fabric with his toe. Someone had gotten into the room and shredded the pillows, leaving a window open so the feathers flew about the room.
"That is not all," Elladan said, grabbing his brother's arm and pointing toward the doors that lead to Legolas' balcony.
The curtains over the door had been shredded, and on closer inspection they saw that the mattress, too, had been torn open.
"Thilator?"
Brithdil shook his head. "I know I hit him...I don't know that he could have done this by himself."
The twins exchanged incredulous glances. "You mean there was someone else involved?" Elrohir asked in shock.
The captain threw open the wardrobe, grimacing when he saw that most of the clothes within had been shredded in a similar manner. "I do not know," he said quietly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A dark-haired elf clung to the trunk of a tree, staring at the palace. He was not far from the walls, certainly close enough that the guards could hear him if he shouted, but that did not matter.
Ice-blue eyes narrowed. He had heard the word spreading around the palace. Amarthwen was dead.
He had not agreed with her actions in the beginning, but as soon as he saw how much she was suffering he gladly tried to help. But he had failed...failed in turning the prince's family against him, failed in the gardens, and now he had even failed in keeping her safe.
The message he had left would not be forgotten.
Legolas would pay, Thilator vowed as he disappeared into the forest. Even if it took a thousand years, the prince would pay.
End of Part Two
Reviews? Flames? Tar and Feathers?
AN: Part Three is coming next! The last part of the story...it's so sad, it'stwo-thirds over.
The next chapter should be up within the next day or two. Part Three is, actually, also a sequel to Beginnings, so if you haven't readthat you might want to at least skim through it before you start reading the next part.